Love, Madness and the Void
by blakleafeon
Summary: Fralia is a Bosmer and has just left the Thieves Guild for good, avoiding the responsibility of guild leader. She decides she is better off just adventuring with her companion, Jenassa. Where will her journey take her now? What wonderous things and people will she encounter? Rated M just in case.
1. Chapter 1

It had been a few months since Karliah and Nocturnal had assimilated her into the group known as the Nightingales. The equipment she was given was quite nice. The bow was gorgeous, the sword was vicious, and the armor... it suited her quite well. Then Brynolf, the poor fool, tried to place the position of leader of the guild onto her. The situation had been quite awkward, really. She turned the event over again in her mind.

"Fralia..." Brynolf had been with her through the Nightingale coronation... he hadn't taken off the armor since. He continued, "being a guild master means more than just getting a cut of all the loot. It's about being a leader... and keeping this rabble in order. With that in mind, I propose that the position of Guild Master... should be yours." Fralia looked back at him... shocked. Brynolf turned to the others. Delvin, Vex and even Karliah agreed with him. "It's settled... I wish you-"

"Wait." Everyone turned when Fralia spoke. For the most part she was the quiet type. Only speaking when absolutely necessary. "Brynolf... everyone... I feel honored that you would all consider me worthy to lead the Guild. But i have to decline." Brynolf seemed to understand, but the others were surprised.

"But lass... you are the best thief out of all of us. No one could better fill the position than you."  
"That's just it Brynolf... that's all i am is a good thief. I'm no leader. I'm sorry. And Bryn, i know you'd rather not, but i feel you would be better suited for this... but i'm out." With that, she left the cistern... and hadn't gone back since.

With the money she had made working with the guild, as well as adventuring, she had bought a piece of land just outside of Falkreath. She spent a good portion of her time here, improving it, adding furniture and generally making it into a home. It would be her first time having a place to call home since leaving Valenwood. The place was perfect for her too. The trees may not have been as big and as dense as the ones back home, but it was good enough for her. By the time the guild had tried to make her their leader, she had just finished building on the house. Her library was nearly full of the books she had collected, her greenhouse was lush with plants she could make into potions and poisons. She even had a storage room in the back of the house as well as her own forge in the cellar. Life was good. And simple. Her skills continued to improve in the art of alchemy and smithing. It was still a long way from being "home" but with Jen by her side, it was close.

Fralia and Jenassa had been traveling together for a long time now. They met the first time the wayward adventurer paid a visit to Whiterun. She had stepped into the Drunken Huntsman to pick up some supplies and trade in some things she had found on the way. She took a seat and a mug of mead to relax a bit before touring the rest of the city. That was when she took notice of the Dunmer mercenary sitting alone in the corner. The elf asked if Fralia might need the company of a sell-sword in her travels. Usually, Fralia preferred to work alone but something about this woman entranced her. She seemed strong and perhaps on the darker side of the moral scale? They would get along nicely, she thought. Since then, they've been inseparable.

They sat together now, on the balcony of Lakeside Manor, Fralia leaning back sipping juniper and mint tea and Jenassa reading one of the many books Fralia had stocked their shelves with. As she threw back the rest of her tea, Fralia stood, placed her cup on the table, and stepped back inside the house. She walked into her bedroom and looked around. The bookshelf here held all of the books she held to the highest importance. She had a copy of every book she could find about the thieves guild and the nightingales as well as the mad god Sheogorath whom she was most fond of. She also had a copy of the first volume of the Lusty Argonian Maid. She still had yet to find volume two. The plaque on the wall held her Nightingale Blade. It had been a good tool for a while, but a recent visit to a desecrated shrine had found her a blade of fire and light, granted to her by the Daedric Lord Meridia. The Nightingale Blade quite literally paled in comparison to this sword which never left her hip. There really wasn't much else in the room. Only a few clothes hung in one of her wardrobes and she rarely wore them. She mostly went about in her Nightingale Armor, minus the hood of course. Her crown of gold and antlers suited her more than a hood that covered her face and stunning red hair.

She stepped down the stairs, glancing around the empty dining room, and into the entryway where most of her belongings were. Her bow sat upon a stand next to a large display case which she had taken upon herself to fill with gems. She had a long way to go before the thing was full but it was a fun habit, she thought. And an excuse to get out of the house... Once she was finished feeling around the house she grabbed her bow and her traveling bag and headed back to the balcony to fetch Jen and go out for more adventure.

Mounted upon horses, they rode north toward Riverwood, having no sense of destination, but for the sake of traveling. After an hour or so, Jenassa finally broke the long silence which was common on these trips. She pulled her horse up alongside Fralia's.

"So where, might I ask, are we off to this time?" Fralia slowed her horse a bit and pulled a piece of parchment out of her traveling bag. On this bit of paper was a map of Skyrim, which she would use to keep record of errands that she would agree to carry out for those who couldn't leave their homes to do it themselves. She glanced over it a few minutes, aknowledging the many scribbling she had done on locations that held treasure, or small villages that needed a parcel delivered to them from some merchant or other. This time around she felt an urge to fight. It had been a while since she delved into some cave or mine and SLAUGHTERED EVERY LAST ONE OF ITS INHABITANTS.

Her gaze fell upon a dwemer ruin to the north that she had penciled in. The scribbling next to it read "Find Grimsever for Mjoll in Riften". Her mind toyed with this for a moment before rolling up the parchment again and looking up at her companion. "My dearest friend. How do you feel about paying a little visit to a Dwemer ruin?" Jen smiled at her bosmer counterpart and replied:"I go wherever you go, sera." Fralia gave a little smile before straightening up in the saddle and pushing her horse into a trot. From there, they followed the path northeast, passing briefly through Riverwood and on towards Whiterun. They arrived at the Whiterun Stables just as the sun was setting over Nirn and so entered the city to spend the night at the Bannered Mare.

The atmosphere at the Mare was as it usually was at this time. The townfolk were settling after a day of working their stalls or shops or the local farmers had come in for a drink or two. Voices filled the air, joyous as could be considering the circumstances. With the war going on, the people were divided according to their opinionated alliances. This hadn't affected Fralia at all. She was new to Skyrim and although the war had caused her to be captured and nearly beheaded upon entering the province, she had decided thus far to stay out of the whole situation. She stepped up to the counter, the smell of mead and smoke from the fire surrounding her. She requested a room from Hulda, handing over a few septims, politely avoiding small talk and urging Jen to follow her through the kitchen and up the stairs to their room. Fralia immediately closed the door once they were safely inside and sprawled out on the bed, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Should I go get us some food?" Jenassa asked, moving to go back out.

"That won't be necessary dearest," and from her sleeve, she procured a fresh sweetroll and tossed it to Jen, which she caught successfully. Fralia then grabbed a whole wheel of goat cheese, two salmon steaks and a jug of milk all of which she placed on the side table. Jen stared in admiration.

"But where...?"

"One does not simply walk through the Bannered Mare kitchen without stealing food."

"Damn. You're getting good. I didn't even see you take these and I was right behind you."

"I'm just glad i decided to ditch that Nightingale Armor for a simple black robe. The armor is nice but it's hard to hide things on such a tight garment..."

"What about that bag of yours? You seem to be able to fit anything into it..." Fralia paused between bites of cheese and looked down at the bag slung across her shoulder. It was considerably small but was capable of holding any number of weapons, clothing, food and potions... even the myriad of books she habitually collected. "What's the story behind it? In all the time I've been travelling with you, i still do not understand how it works. Is it some sort of daedric artifact?"

"Not quite... back in Valenwood, there was an old dunmer mage that had travelled there to work on a project. I had known him my whole life. He used to be quite an adventurer himself. He was all too aware of the problem of carrying a vast amount of loot out of a cave or ruin and bringing it to the nearest town, especially if one is lacking a horse. He spent a large portion of his later years trying to create a vessel that could carry tons upon tons of items without running out of room or overencumbering the wearer..." she paused for a drink of milk before picking up a piece of salmon steak and eating it a piece at a time. Jen followed her example. "As you can see, he was successful. I'm not sure how he did it and i never asked. But when i... left... I had decided to visit him one last time and inform him that i was leaving for... well originally i was leaving for Cyrodil but events pushed me toward Skyrim. He simply insisted that, since he was too old to go out adventuring and put the bag to good use, that i should take it. I am very grateful to him. He is the only one i still miss from... back home." Her tone turned solemn as it often did when she spoke of her homeland. It always left Jen puzzled.

"Why did you leave Valenwood...?" The question was asked often. Sometimes subtly, sometimes not. But the answer was always the same.

"That is a story for another time... for now, we must rest. Tomorrow will be a long day." Fralia removed her boots and set them near the door before getting under the covers and making room on the small bed for Jenassa to join her. Once they were tucked snuggly together, Jenassa asked one last question.

"If you won't tell me why you left Valenwood, could you tell me truthfully why you left the Thieves Guild? That line about lacking leadership skills was nonsense and it's not fooling me." Fralia sighed and thought out her response carefully before replying.

"The Guild was... good... while it lasted. But it's lacking. In their dealings, they don't allow... murder. Frankly, it's boring. I've built my house from the money i made there and that was all i really needed. That was the whole reason i joined the guild. But now i wish to work alone again... with you being the exception of course. You accept me as I am. You've witnessed the extent of my bloodlust and yet you stay by my side. I couldn't ask for a better companion." there was a long silence in which Fralia feared she had said too much or made the wrong assumptions about Jen understanding her... the relief was immense when she finally spoke.

"I understand. But it's not just about you wanting to be free to kill. You would have done that regardless if that was all you cared about. It's the thought of working in a group... or worse leading that group. I don't yet know what it is about you and other people. Trust issues perhaps? I know you don't like them. The way you reacted downstairs... you had a look on your face... like a caged animal... you never act that way when surrounded by bandits. But with innocent civilians who wish you no harm-" Jen stopped when Fralia tensed and tightened her grip on her. She knew that to be a clue that she had said too much... and that she was close to the root of the problem. She said no more, only entwined her fingers with the hand that was wrapped so tightly around her. With that, they slept through the night...

Early the next morning, while the town still slept, they procured a few more food items (not at all by honest means) before setting out again. They took the path heading east and then north away from Whiterun and across the plains. The sun was just beginning to rise and the view was stunning. To the east was the White River, running along through twists and turns and falls where one could see the salmon leaping against the stream. To the west and north, a wide expanse of plains riddled with deer and elk and the occassional fox. Fralia could see all the way across until they were cut off by the mountains farther north and Dawstar just beyond. They're destination was somewhere amongst those rocky hills. As they made their way north, the river tapered off to the east, giving way to more mountains. The scenery and the solitude was slowly sending Fralia into a very calm state of being, and that crisp morning air was exhilerating.

She was soon snapped out of it, however, when she heard a very high-pitched voice in distress crying out. A little way up the road was a horse-drawn wagon, that seemed to have a broken wheel, which was carting a very large crate. Fralia never had the chance to wonder about the crate when she laid eyes upon the very intriguing man pacing nervously around the back of the wagon. The man looked to be an imperial, dressed in a tattered red and black jester's outfit. Jester's clothes of all things! Tattered or not, the whole thing was rather regal. Black boots with gold trimming and gloves to match, very high quality indeed, and a hat with two tails in the back. It was strange, sure, but she rather liked the outfit. Especially for it's particular shade... the red reminded her of blood.

The imperial was muttering something to himself as she and her comrade approached and she just caught the end of it.

"Stuck here... STUCK! my mother my poooor mother... unmoving... at rest... but TOO STILL!" his speech was rather irregular, probably due to the stress but Fralia could easily take him for a madman the way he spoke. As she approached, she dismounted her steed and approached him, noticing right away that he was also very short.

"Is there a problem, sir?" she spoke with curiosity thick in her voice. He turned to acknowlegde her and she took in his appearance. His hair was a weak shade of red and his eyes a bright amber. Her curiosity now turned to an attraction. For in those eyes, she could also see that he was, in fact, quite mad... maybe even... her particular brand of madness? Perhaps it was only wishful thinking... He responded in his high-pitched voice.

"Oh poor Cicero is stuck, can't you see?" at this point he made a very sad face. "I was transporting my dear, sweet mother- well not her. Her corpse. Hehehe she's quite dead." was this his normal tone of voice? Fralia couldn't help but giggle a little at his joke. He didn't seem to notice and continued his rant. "I'm taking mother to a new home. A new crypt but... AGGH WAGON WHEEL, DAAAMNDEST wagon wheel, it broke DON'T YOU SEE?"

"I do see," she glanced at the broken wagon wheel. "Is there any way I can help?" as soon as the word 'help' left her mouth, the man, whom apparently was called Cicero, simply lit up, taking Fralia by surprise, he even did a little dance.

"Oh. Oh YEEES! The kindly Bosmer can surely help..." he said, with a huge grin on his handsome face. So this IS his normal voice... "Go to the farm. The LOOOReius farm. Just over there up the road. Talk to Loreius. He has tools. He could help me, but he won't. He refuses!" Fralia's face turned serious as she looked toward the farm that Cicero had indicated. "Convince Loreius to fix my wheel. Do that, and poor Cicero will reward you. With coin! Shiny, gleamy coin!" At this point the gold mattered little to her.

"He has tools?" she asked.

"Yes!" Cicero responded dutifully.

"And he won't help you...?"

"No..." he made a pouty face that Fralia could not deny was quite adorable. But she focused on the farm.

"I will go speak with this man. You stay right here." the jester giggled excitedly as Fralia made her way up the road.

"Would you like me to accompany you, sera?" Jenassa called from her horse.

"Not this time. I've got this" she called back. As she approached the farmhouse she spotted a man whom she assumed to be this Loreius character leaning against a railing in front of his house, looking out over his crop of gourds and potatoes. He saw her coming and let out a sigh of annoyance.

"For the love of Mara, what is it now?" she stepped up onto the porch just as he was straightening out.

"Are you Loreius?"

"Yes, and who are you?" she stepped onto his porch.

"That man by the road... he seems to be in need of your help."

"What, that Cicero fellow? Yea tell me something i don't know. The crazy fool's already asked me about a dozen times..."

"And you haven't helped him?" the farmer was completely oblivious to the darkness creeping into her tone.

"Of course not. I mean, have you seen the man? He's completely insane! A jester in Skyrim? Ain't been a merryman in these parts for... over a century. And he's got that weird crate... says it's his dead mother and he's going to bury her. Mother, my eye... could be anything in there. Weapons, war contraband, skooma? Nuh uh. I don't want anyth- AGH!" Fralia had heard enough. She had his throat gripped tightly in her hand as she pinned him against the wall of the house, his feet dangling. She slowly unsheathed her sword as she spoke to him.

"That man has asked for your help... you have the tools to do so..." she brought Dawnbreaker up to his throat, just below her hand, just close enough that he could feel the heat from it's enchanted blade. "You are going to go get those tools and fix that damn wheel or, Gods help you, I will slaughter you and that lovely wife of yours." he looked at her in horror when she mentioned the woman, his face slowly turning red from lack of oxygen. "Yes that's right... and if you have children, you better hope i won't find them... i will show no mercy, you can trust me on that. Now. You are going to fix that wheel. And don't you even think of calling the guards, because I will cut you down before the words have a chance to escape your throat. Do you understand me?" tears in his eyes, the farmer nodded and Fralia let him down on his feet, giving him just enough time to breathe before following him to get his tools, make his way down to the wagon, and wordlessly begin fixing the wheel. Cicero giggled with delight when he saw them coming down the hill, Loreius with tools in hand. Fralia hovered over him until she was absolutely certain that he wouldn't cause any trouble. She then turned to Cicero.

"My name is Fralia, by the way." she said. The jester looked overly pleased and very giddy.

"Oh thank you, dear Fralia, thank you thank you thaaank you. But more importantly, my mother thanks you."

"Of course. You have a safe trip, and I hope we'll meet again some day. Will you be staying in Skyrim long?"

"Oh yes, that was the plan. And thank you again. And here! As promised, gold! For your troubles."

"Thank you, it was no trouble at all, really." she smiled at him from beneath her hood. Loreius had just finished patching up the wheel and was gathering his tools. Fralia walked over to him, her robes billowing around her, and grabbed him harshly by the shoulder pulling him closer and staring into his eyes. "Is this going to hold?"

"Yes, ma'am." his voice was low and shaky.

"You do realize, if i come back this way and find his wagon on the side of the road again, i will be coming after you. Now i ask again. Did you fix the wheel correctly?"

"Yes yes! I promise!" he was desperate now.

"For your family's sake, you better hope so... now go back home and pretend this never happened. Do you understand?" he nodded and she let him go. He ran back up the hill and into his house. Ignoring the looks she recieved from Jen, she addressed Cicero. "May the gods watch over you, friend. I do hope we have the pleasure of meeting again. So long." with that, she mounted her horse and they went their seperate ways.

Jen eyed her suspiciously as Cicero's cart headed south and out of sight. It was quite some time before she said anything.

"Are you going to tell me what that was all about?" she said as she brought her horse up next to Fralia's. Fralia was gazing off ahead of her with an odd smile on her face. This worried Jenassa even more.

"To answer your inquiry from last night... for why I left the guild... i never quite felt comfortable there." Jen was quite shocked to hear Fralia actually sharing her thoughts. This was unusual for her. "The other members of the guild were quite distant from each other. Vex had once referred to it as a "cozy little family" but she could never be far from the truth. I simply couldn't connect with any of them. I didn't quite feel like I really belonged there. So i left... and to confirm your suspicions: I don't do well in crowds. I always feel like everyone is always looking at me and for some reason that is worse for me than if they were trying to attack me. Violence i can understand but... being polite? Social normality? I just... can't. I'm the goddamned Dragonborn and I can't handle sitting in a room of strangers without feeling like the air is getting thinner around me..." The dunmer could not believe her ears. She understood completely but had no idea what to say. These were things that she never expected Fralia to talk about with her, despite how much she trusted her. Something had happened back there that had changed her, and Jen was sure it was something to do with that Jester... Or was she simply going mad...er?

"Thank you for telling me this... I know it is difficult for you to talk about something so personal. I am honored that you trust me on that level."

"I swear by the nine, Jenassa, if you ever tell anyone, I will fucking kill you." Jen couldn't help but laugh at her defensiveness, but she promised never to breathe a word of it and they continued towards Mzinchaleft at a quicker pace.

~x-x-x~

The ruin of Mzinchaleft proved to be quite a challenging venture, but not one that Fralia and Jenassa could not overcome. They fought a large dwarven centurion and retrieved the enchanted glass sword that Fralia had promised to find. After exiting the ruin, it took them two days to make their way into riften to return the sword to Mjoll. She was overjoyed to see the blade again.

"You found Grimsever! Thank you. You know... when you said you were thinking of joining the Thieves Guild, i thought you were no better than the scum in the ratway. I see I still have much to learn. If you ever need my steel by your side, i'd be happy to go with you on your journey. Perhaps you could teach me a few things." Fralia's thoughts turned to her dunmer companion who had decided to procure them a room in The Bee and Barb while she took care of things.

"Thank you for the offer, but i already have a reliable sword by my side. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't return to adventuring. Riften is beyond help, and your talents may be needed elsewhere. Go on and perhaps some day we will meet again and exchange stories."

"I will consider it... with Grimsever by my side once again... as long as i stay away from dwemer ruins, eh?" they laughed together before leaving each others company. The sun was setting as Fralia wandered through the marketplace and across the bridge, looking around the city. She hadn't been here since leaving the guild... perhaps she would pay a visit to Brynjolf? See if he took up the guild leader position...  
Fralia could never quite explain it... maybe it was fate... perhaps it was a push from the gods... maybe she had sensed trouble... but in that moment, she felt something pulling her attention to the building directly to her right. The sign above the door read: Honorhall Orphanage. She didn't quite know why and maybe she never would, but something told her she had to go in there.  
She entered the building inconspicuously, closing the door behind her very quietly. As soon as the door was shut she heard the voice of an old woman.

"Those who shirk their duties will get an extra beating. Do i make myself clear?" then a chorus of discontent children. "Yes, Grelod..."

"Good. And one more thing. I'll have no more talk of adoption. None of you little guttersnipes is getting adopted! Nobody needs you! Nobody wants you... Now. What do you all say?"

"We love you, Grelod... thank you for your kindness." No matter what the reason... she didn't care anymore why she came in. But after that... something snapped in her and she knew what needed to be done. She stepped around the corner into a room where this detestable woman stood before about seven orphaned children. When she saw the wood elf, her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Who are you? By shor, what do you want?" Fralia said nothing, her eyes hidden beneath hair and hood. In one swift movement she drew her sword of flames and buried the blade in the woman's belly, ripped it out, and then sliced her wrinkled neck, spraying blood all over herself and the children. A younger woman, whom Fralia assumed to be an assistant or underling of some sort screamed in terror and curled up in the corner. The children, however, stood in silence for only a few moments before clapping and cheering. There was a flurry of excitement around her and one of the girls came up to her and tugged on the sleeve of her robes.

"Thank you so much! When Aventus said those things about contacting the brotherhood and killing Grelod... we didn't believe him but... he did it! We're free! Haha!"

The brotherhood...

It all came back to her now. Her hair fell over her eyes as her thoughts were clouded. The sound of joyful children faded into the background.

The Dark Brotherhood...

She remembered now... how could she forget? His memory had of course been ever present in the darkest corners of her mind, but that low buzzing now came back in full force. That was why she was here, wasn't it? That was why she came to skyrim...

Ri'saara...

She just managed to whisper a few words before she faded into her thoughts.

"Where is this boy..." the child hadn't noticed any change in the bosmer.

"He used to live with his mother in Windhelm before she died. Maybe he's there now?"

After the child answered, all Fralia could hear was screaming. She never even remembered leaving the orphanage...


	2. Chapter 2

Fralia awoke, fully clothed, drenched in blood and with her arm wrapped firmly around Jenassa's waist on a bed in the Bee and Barb. When she noticed the blood she immediately panicked and looked over Jen to make sure it wasn't hers. After her panic subsided, the memories came through a haze of red.

Bandits.

After the child had brought up the dark brotherhood, Fralia dashed out of Riften and to Fort Greenwall to the north, viciously slaughtering every last one of the bandits there. Flashes of the event came back to her, one at a time. The screams of the bandits had mixed with those in her memories...

All she could hear was screaming...

All she could see was red...

She shook the thoughts away, holding Jen tighter to stay grounded. The screaming was always there but it was softer now and easier to ignore. Jenassa stirred a bit, signaling that she was awake. Fralia let her go, reluctantly, and got up to change out of her dirty robes and into her traveling dress. Armor was never really an issue for her, as she was far too good at sneaking and didn't need it. Jen mumbled something about wondering why Fralia was drenched in blood.

"Don't worry about it for now. Get up and get ready. We're going to Windhelm." Jen gave a groan of annoyance but got up anyway, hoping Fralia would talk when she was ready...

~X-x-X~

The Arentino boy was quite the sad character. Fralia had shamelessly looked through his meager belongings before making herself known in his house. She found a note from the steward of Windhelm extending his condolences to the boy about his mother passing away. When she did introduce herself, she saw him performing some sort of grotesque ritual involving human remains and nightshade petals. She also noticed a book next to his work area titled: A kiss, sweet mother. The title brought her thoughts back to the jester she had encountered just a day before. After presenting herself as a member of the brotherhood to this very confused but desperate child, and revealing to him that the contract he had been trying to make had already been carried out, he gave her some fancy looking silver dishware. It wasn't much but she decided she could always sell it later, despite it's value being mostly sentimental. However she did make it out of there with the book, wishing to read it later before adding it to her collection.

As it was her first time visiting the city, she decided she would have a look around. She wasn't impressed. She hated the cold and the streets looked barren and neglected. Especially in the area they called the "Gray Quarter". She quickly learned why it was called the Gray Quarter after encountering a couple of nords speaking with a dark elf near the front gate. Fralia was walking by them when she heard what the nords were saying to the dunmer woman, accusing her of being an imperial spy and a parasite to the city because she wouldn't help the stormcloaks in the war. One of the men referred to her and her people as grayskins and spoke in a disgusted tone.

Fralia stopped behind the men as she listened to their conversation, which ended in the two men threatening her in a rather slurred tone. At that point she drew her sword and grabbed one of the men, pulling him to her and stabbing him repeatedly in the chest. The other man, who seemed to be just a follower of the first one and perhaps not quite so cruel on his own, turned to run but didn't make it very far. Being a bosmer, Fralia was far too fast for him and slit his throat before he could take more than a few steps. The dunmer woman looked on in horror. Fralia, covered in blood with the nord corpses at her feet, licked a bit of blood off her wrist before turning to woman.

"I'm sorry you had to see that... are all the nords here so prejudiced against Dunmer?" the elf looked very conflicted. She was aware that this woman was sort of trying to help but she had also just witnessed a murder. She looked as if she didn't know whether to run or say thank you. In the end it didn't matter...

"HALT! IN THE NAME OF THE JARL!"

"Shit..." the guards had seen her little performance and they ran at her now, blades in hand, from the side of town that she had yet to explore. She supposed she would never see what it looked like now. "Fus roh DAH!" the guards all flew backwards at the power of Fralia's shout. From the direction of the Jarl's palace, Jenassa called out as she ran towards Fralia, seemingly summoned by the thu'um.

"FRALIA!" once she was close enough, she assessed the situation. Fralia, sword drawn and covered in blood, two corpses on the ground, a dunmer trying to sneak away without being noticed, and a group of three guards, breathless, scrambling to get up. She simply sighed in annoyance and drew her sword. "Again? Really? Can't you control yourself?"

"They were threatening that woman..." They didn't give the guards a chance to get back on their feet. Fralia unleashed another Unrelenting Force on them and the two made their escape through the front gate, ran out to their horses and rode out westbound for Whiterun. Fralia wasn't quite sure what she should do now that she had successfully taken what was, by all rights, a dark brotherhood contract. She decided the best she could do was wait... but she couldn't do it in Eastmarch anymore. Not with this huge bounty on her head.

By the end of the day, they had made it to Whiterun and once again rented a room at the Bannered Mare. It was then that fralia decided to take a look at the book she had snagged from the Arentino boy. The book wasn't very long. It simply outlined what exactly one should do to contact the brotherhood in the event of wanting someone dead. It mentioned "Sithis" and the "Night Mother". This was the first she had ever heard of either of these beings and, curious, she decided to search high and low in her adventures for other writings that could tell her more. Perhaps she would go about it in an organized fashion and pay a visit to the college of Winterhold? She had heard that they had quite an expansive collection of books. It would be a good start, to say the least.

The next morning, Fralia and Jenassa stepped out of the Bannered Mare to make their way back to Lakeview Manor and were immediately met by a courier. He addressed Fralia.

"I've been looking for you. Got something i'm supposed to deliver. Your hands only. Let's see here... yup. Got this note." he pulled a piece of folded up parchment from his satchel and handed it to Fralia who eyed it suspiciously.

"Who is it from?"

"Don't know. Creepy fellow... kept a hood over his face. Paid a hefty sum to get that into your hands though. Well, that's it. Got to go." With that, he left to continue his mail-delivering duties. Fralia looked at the folded parchment, unsure of whether she really wanted to open it. Jen was looking over her shoulder.

"Well, are you going to open it?" Fralia looked around the market district for a moment and stepped into the shadows in front of Arcadia's Cauldron, wary of onlookers. She opened the letter and was slightly disturbed by what she say. The only thing on the paper was a black hand print and the words "We Know" written below it.

They knew.

She knew too... she knew exactly who had sent the letter. But she wasn't sure whether to be excited or frightened. Her companion just looked confused. Fralia hadn't said anything to her yet about the Brotherhood and what she was planning.

And she definitely hadn't mentioned why the brotherhood was important or what it meant to her...

"What is that supposed to mean? Fralia, who is this letter from?"

"Jen, keep your voice down. Don't draw attention..." she spoke in a low voice, closed up the letter, put it in her infinite bag of tricks and looked around to see if anyone had been watching them. "Come on. It's time for us to go. I'll tell you about the letter when we are outside of the city." Fralia put on an air of normality, grabbed Jenassa's hand, and led her out of the city gate and to the stables to fetch their horses.

It wasn't until the were past Riverwood that Fralia finally spoke.

"I may or may not have gotten myself into a bit of trouble..." Jen looked at her intently. She had been waiting patiently for Fralia to respond. "I sort of... meddled in the affairs of the Dark Brotherhood. I am certain that letter was from them." Jenassa went from curious to horrified.

"The Dark Brotherhood? What have you done? Fralia, what did you do?"

"When we were in Riften, something... like a divine intervention... pulled me into the orphanage and I killed the woman who was... watching over the children."

"You did what?" The dark elf pulled her horse up in front of Fralia's and looked her directly in the face. "What's going on with you? That isn't like you. I know you kill people. That, I understand, but you usually have a good reason. Like those men who were threatening that dark elf woman. Why in Oblivion would you kill a woman who takes care of orphan children?"

"You don't understand... she abused them. She was terrible to them... and besides, it isn't like i left them all alone. She had an assistant and that girl seemed nice enough... I mean, she ran screaming when I killed the old hag but she seemed nice..." Jen seemed a little suspicious but let Fralia continue riding forward. "After i killed the woman, the children were saying something about a boy who was trying to contact the brotherhood to kill the person that i had just killed. Apparently i wasn't the only one who wanted to see her dead, for obvious reasons. So i sought out this boy. I'll be honest, Jen... I wanted to see if perhaps I would feel... at home... with a group like that. Like i said, the Thieves Guild was lacking... maybe the Brotherhood will be different? But now i'm not sure if they want to accept me into their group, or kill me for taking their contract..." Jen looked a bit worried now, but her expression quickly turned to determination.

"Not to worry. They will have to get past me if they want to kill you." Fralia smiled at her companion as they were just coming up to the house on Lakeview. Fralia dismounted near the stables and let her horse rest while she headed around to the back of the house, up the stairs onto her porch, and leaned over the wooden railing to look out over the lake. The sun was beginning to set now and the rays of light set the water ablaze with sparkles. She stood there for gods knew how long, just staring at the water, relaxing after all the traveling the two had done. It felt good for her to be home. Jenassa had joined her by the balcony at some point but she didn't notice until she turned around to go into the house.

Upon entering, she placed A Kiss, Sweet Mother in her bookshelf of important pieces. She then walked through her bedroom, looking briefly at her bed, her bedside table, wardrobes, the small bowl on her table that held a few emeralds and an amethyst, then downstairs through the dining room and into the entryway. Here, she placed her Nightingale Bow and Dawnbreaker on their respective stands then stepped over to the large display case with various gems scattered in it and dropped a few amethyst, a ruby, and a couple of emeralds inside. All spoils of victory from Mzinchaleft. The case was still far from being even close to half full. To help fill the space, she had placed a couple of skulls at the corners for aesthetic value.

Pleased with her work, she left the entryway and stepped into her greenhouse, which was attached to the dining room. She spent the next few hours tending to her vegetables and various herbs, weeding them, watering them and harvesting whatever was ready to be harvested. Whatever she harvested was stored around the dining room so she could get to it later while cooking. It wasn't very often that she and Jen had a homecooked meal, but however sparse, they were always lovely. The rafters of the greenhouse had acquired a few bee hives and their many inhabitants were buzzing around, collecting pollen from the blooms that came from the vegetables.

Fralia gathered her ingredients and put what she would need for the night on the table, storing the rest in barrels. She then collected her bow from the entryway and stepped out into the night air. It wouldn't be very practical to fish at this time of night, and especially with a bow, but not for a bosmer who also happened to be dragonborn. Using aura whisper, she easily scoped out some salmon in the lake and unleashed arrows upon them. Not long after, the two elves were seated across from one another at the table dining on grilled salmon cooked with salt, frost mirriam, and garlic, with a side of baked potato and two large mugs of Blackbriar mead.

"So what do you have planned for us now?" Jen asked, slurring just a little.

"Honestly... I think we should wait here for the brotherhood to make their move." Fralia's cheeks were a little red as she leaned on top of the table and traced her finger over the rim of her glass before taking another drink. "It might be days before... before we hear anything or... I don't know. I don't know how they would contact us... but we have... aaaall the time in the world... all to ourselves, eh?" she smiled mischeivously and picked up the mug and was now making clumsy gestures toward Jenassa. "What say you... my dark skinned friend?" she laughed to herself. "Remem... member that time you tried on that um... that forsworn armor?" Jenassa sighed and put a hand over her face.

"Yes, Fralia, i remember..." Jenassa was always better at holding her drink than Fralia was. For one who was rarely vocal, she made for an obnoxious and ungraceful drunk. She grinned behind her messy red hair before looking at Jen seriously and pulling herself up on the table, looking directly into her eyes.

"You... you looked so beautiful in that..." she looked very dazed.

"I think it's time we went to bed, dearest." but Fralia shook her head, leaning a little.

"No no... no we should... come here" she moved her mug out of the way and climbed over the table. Jen looked a little surprised, but then readied herself in case Fralia were to fall over. "Let me just..." the wood elf ran her hand through her friend's hair and pulled her into a gentle kiss. When she pulled away she looked directly into Jenassa's eyes, whom was, herself, feeling a little dizzy now. "I love you... ok?" Jen nodded, "Don't... don't listen to me... no matter what i say... or don't say... I really care about you, Jen." she rested her forehead against Jen's. "I'll tell you... why... do- do you wanna know why I left Valenwood?" Jen took Fralia's face in her hands and pulled her back to look at her before nodding. Fralia seemed to think for a moment, then her eyes filled with tears. "Blood... there was so much blood... I couldn't... save..." her voice tapered off and she fell, passing out, taking Jenassa, a few plates, and half of the tablecloth to the floor with her.

The dark elf held her friend for a moment then looked at the stairs, sighed, and picked them both up, trekked up the stairs, and laid Fralia gently on the bed, boots and all. For lack of any amount of energy to even begin to undress either of them, she pulled the blanket up, laid down next to her and drifted off to sleep...


	3. Chapter 3

**Really sorry this one took so long but i had to do some research (i.e. taking down the dialogue for this mission cuz i'm a perfectionist). I really enjoyed writing this chapter and i hope you enjoy reading it. I also apologize for it being so short in comparison to the others. Owell, here ya go 3**

Fralia was restless. Memories from a time long past haunted her and caused her to toss and turn in her sleep. The screaming was getting louder. A reminder of pain. Of loss. Everything was dark and senses were clouded...  
_ Skooma._  
_ A lovely thing it was._  
_ It dulled the senses yet at the same time, everything felt clearer... more real._  
_ The room was dark. She held her lover close. He was all dark fur, black as the night, and blue eyes, bright as the stars. She was pale skin, fiery hair and eyes green as the forest._  
_ Dark fur on pale skin._  
_ Warm._  
_ Soft kisses._  
_ Shivers._  
_ His voice captivated her as it spun tales of death and shadows, divulging secrets of a clan that served the void._  
_ Head spinning._  
_ Hands all over._  
_ Dark fur and pale skin._  
_ She felt safe with him. Safe and accepted. She learned so much from him._  
_ The air stirred. Something wasn't right. The light came, unwelcome, uninvited. A voice, far too loud, uncomfortable. "YOU FILTHY BEAST! GET OFF OF HER!"_  
_ Dark fur. Pale skin. Warm. Wet?_  
_ Blood._  
_ Blood?_  
"RI'SAARA!" Fralia awoke, panicking, tears streaming down her face. Once she was painfully aware that she was severely lacking her furry companion, she fell to her knees, shaking with the force of her sadness. That night... that was the start of everything. There was so much blood...  
"Bad dream...?" a smooth, captivating voice pulled her from her darkness. The red cleared from her vision and she finally took in her surroundings. She found herself in a dark, abandoned shack just barely lit by candlelight. The voice had come from a dark figure seated on top of a bookcase that held a collection of ruined books. It was a female, either a nord or a breton, dressed in tight leather and a masked hood.  
"Who are you? Where am I?" Fralia could feel a dull pounding in her head. A result of last night's drinking. The tears still streamed steady down her face. A result of the dream. But last night... "Jen..." she looked up at the mysterious woman, concern causing her to panic again. "Where is she... what did you do with my dunmer?"  
"Does it matter? You're warm, dry, and still very much alive. Which is more than can be said for old Grelod, hm?" her head began to clear up at the mention of the old woman. She knew. She hadn't quite expected to be kidnapped, but they had contacted her. So soon, too.  
"You know about that..." it wasn't a question. She stated it, as a declaration of clarity.  
"Half of Skyrim knows. Old hag gets butchered in her own orphanage? Things like that tend to get around... Oh, but don't misunderstand. I'm not criticizing. It was a good kill... Old crone had it coming. And you saved a group of urchins, to boot. Ah but there is a slight... hm... problem." the woman's voice was smooth... seductive... her manner reminded Fralia very much of a certain midnight colored khajiit... he would speak of blood and the cutting of flesh and the crushing of bone with a sexual edge that suggested he enjoyed his work a little too much. The shrouded assassin continued when Fralia only looked on and listened. "You see, that little Aretino boy was looking for the Dark Brotherhood. For me... and my associates. Grelod the kind was, by all rights, a dark brotherhood contract. A kill... that you stole. A kill you must repay."  
"You want me to murder someone else... who?" it took all she had to keep the excitement out of her voice. The nightmare she had awoken from brought her mind to a dark place... the events of that night playing through in her mind... she wanted nothing more than to bury her blade into someone. To replay what happened next...  
"Well now... funny you should ask. If you'll turn around, you'll notice my guests. I've 'collected' them from... well, that's not important... The here and now. That's what matters." Fralia turned to see three people, bound, on their knees, and heads covered in execution hoods. A male khajiit, a female nord(?) and a male whose race she could not discern, perhaps an imperial? "You see, there is a contract out on one of them and that person can't leave this room alive. But... oh which one? Go on... see if you can figure it out. Also, when I... picked you up... i noticed you were unarmed, but don't worry. I made sure that you would have your sword for this little test..." Fralia's hand immediately leapt to the spot she would usually have Dawnbreaker and found that it was there. She grabbed the hilt and slowly pulled the glowing sword from it's sheath, turning towards the bound victims.  
"Make your choice... "  
Fralia took a few steps towards them, her cloak billowing around her, a little awry from being slept in.  
"Make your kill..."  
The events of the nightmare were still fresh in her mind. She felt warm fur against her. A smooth, heavily-accented voice whispering in her ear.  
"I just want to observe... and admire."  
_"kill them, my little nightshade..."_  
The female turned her head towards the footsteps and started shouted something at the unknown creature approaching. Something that sounded vaguely threatening, followed by the khajiit asking to be let go and the male whimpering in the corner. Their words were drowned out by the screaming in the bosmer's head... which was soon to be met with louder more immediate screaming.  
Without a hint of hesitation, Fralia grabbed onto the back of the woman's head, taking a handful of hair and hood, lifting her to eye level and stabbing her, repeatedly in the stomach, eliciting bloodcurdling screams that were drowned by a gurgling noise once she was stabbed in the center of her chest. Her bloodied body caught fire from dawnbreaker's enchantment and was tossed aside as the enraged elf descended upon her next unfortunate target: the khajiit. He was rambling something in a questioning tone but was soon cut off when he was grabbed by the throat and pinned against a wall. His clothes were torn from his torso and he soon felt a burning pain on his flesh as a certain flaming sword was drawn intimately across his stomach, leaving a shallow scar. This torturous action was repeated until the whole of his abdomen was covered in scars and singed fur, each scar rewarded it's creator with a cry of pain. When she was through toying with him, she dropped him on the ground, on his back, and sunk her blade in his neck, eliciting grotesque drowning noises.  
She then moved on to her last victim, whom was curled up in the corner, shaking after having to listen to the pained cries of those before him. He was grabbed roughly by the arm then thrown down and forced to lay on his stomach. A boot landed hard on his back, holding him in place as his attacker grabbed his bound hands and slowly pulled them up as if to push them over his head. He could feel his muscles stretching beyond their limit and gritted his teeth, panicking as he knew she wouldn't stop till he broke. Before his arms reached that point, the heated edge of Dawnbreaker cut straight through his left leg, chopping it off at the knee. The shack was filled with his screaming and desperate pleading. Just as his shoulders were about to be forced out of place, his other leg was sliced off, this time from the middle of his thigh. The pain of his lost right leg mixed with that of his arms finally pulling away from his body, ripping muscle and scraping bone. Tears fell freely down his covered face as his assailant stepped off of his back and turned him over.  
His breathe caught as he was dragged across the floor and propped up against the wall. His execution hood was removed. He blinked his eyes, trying instictively to see his surroundings through tears and a weak shade of red. Before him was crouched a wood elf, pretty, covered in blood with shocking red hair, weilding a sword of light. Behind her, perched on a bookshelf, was a dark female figure dressed in tight leather, looking on in horror. He turned his head to his left and saw the bodies that belonged to the screams he had heard moments before. His disembodied legs lie useless behind the bosmer...  
Fralia held his chin in her hand gently, pulling him to face her, wanting to see the look in his eyes when she delivered the final blow. He was shaking uncontrollably and getting dizzy from the large amount of blood loss. He felt heat approach his face as the sadistic creature licked blood from her sword hand before smiling at him, giving a soft "goodbye" and then slowly and painfully pushing the tip of her sword through his chest and to his heart, seeming extremely aroused by the act...  
Feeling sated, Fralia turned back to her captor, but not before pulling her sword out by slashing it through what was left or her unfortunate prey. The screaming made it's way back into the background of her thoughts and she saw clearly again. She walked back up to the Dark Brotherhood assassin and found that the woman looked horrified. The elf smiled from beneath her messy and blood-clotted hair. She then sheathed her weapon and gave an expectant look. The assassin's expression changed back to the aloof gaze she had donned before the vicious scene she had just witnessed.  
"Well well, aren't we the overachiever? Three possibilities, three victims. Had to be one of them, right? So why take chances..." she was silent for a moment, expecting an answer but was only met with focused eyes and a determined expression. "Hm... When most would speak, you listen. You think. That's good."  
"Is my debt repaid, then?"  
"Of course..." she tossed Fralia a key, which she caught deftly. "Here's the key to the shack. But why stop here? I say we take our relationship to the next level... I, Astrid, as leader of the Dark Brotherhood, would like to formally extend to you an invitation to join my family..." a phrase resurfaced itself in Fralia's mind. The line that Vex had given her about the guild being a family. "What is your name?" being addressed pulled her from her thoughts.  
"Fralia" she replied.  
"Fralia... In the southwest reaches of Skyrim, in the Pine Forest, you'll find the entrance to our sanctuary. It's just beneath the road, hidden from view. When questioned by the black door, answer with the correct passphrase, 'Silence, my brother.' Then you're in. And your new life begins..." Fralia felt a bit of panic rising in her from the intensity of how important this moment was. She only wished that Jen had been there to share in her excitement. Wait... Jen.  
"Hold on... you never answered my question. Jenassa... the dunmer that was with me... is she alright?" Astrid chuckled lightly before replying.  
"Not to worry, your companion is fine. The most you should worry about is that she is wondering where you are. I left her sleeping in that house of yours, untouched I assure you." Fralia was visibly relieved and hoped to the gods that Jen would just stay put and trust that she would find her way back home.  
"Thank you... Astrid." the higher ranking assassin nodded.  
"I'll see you at home..." with that, the Dark Brotherhood initiate stole one last glance at the leftovers of her gruesome handiwork before using her key to exit the small building and step out into the cold and foggy landscape...


	4. Chapter 4

_**I would like to bring to the attention of my readers that this is the first time i have ever published my work, so feedback is highly encouraged. Thanx and enjoy 3**_

****Fralia stepped out into the cold, damp air and her attention was immediately turned to the fact that her dress and traveling cloak were soaked in blood from her initiation. She decided it would be in her best interest to step back inside the shack and dig through her bag of infinite forever in search of some fresh clothes. Much to her surprise, although in hindsight it shouldn't have been so shocking, Fralia found that Astrid had somehow left the shack without her noticing. She shrugged off her confusion and spared a glance at the bodies laying in the corner, a fleeting thought of taking their clothes passing through her mind, unattended when she reminded herself that she had already torn through them and they too would be soaked in blood. Instead she reached into her bag and felt around for any hint of dry cloth, eventually pulling out a necromancers robe which would serve well in keeping her warm.

She then set to the task of changing, setting her antlered crown upon the soiled bed to pull the cloak and dress over her head. Wearing only a pair of leather boots, she looked at herself and set it in her mind to bathe once she returned home. Her pale skin was tainted by dirt and dried blood (none of it was hers), and her hair was equally unattractive. She covered up in the black robe and place the antlers back on her head, repositioning Dawnbreaker for easy access before stepping back out into the swamp. She turned and looked at the shack and its surroundings and knew immediately where she was. Astrid had taken her pretty far north. How long had she been out? She was somewhere between The Pale and Hjaalmarch. To the west, she could just see the sillouhette of Solitude through the trees and fog. Meridia's shrine was just beyond. To the east she would find Dawnstar and, further on, Winterhold.

She remembered that she had wanted to visit the College of Winterhold to see if they would have any books that could teach her more about the Brotherhood.

Or at least things that Ri'saara had not already taught her...

She pondered a moment on whether she should fetch Jenassa before venturing out that way. Taking a quick look at her map and taking into account what her next move would be, she decided it would be best to go to the College first and hope Jen stayed put as she would rather be prepared to enter the Sanctuary before making her way back to Falkreath. She directed her steps eastward, picking up deathbells on the way to use later, and doing her best to avoid getting wetter than absolutely necessary as she made her way out of the broken land and into Hjaalmarch.

Inspiration struck when she finally reached the road and spotted a wood elf courier. She hailed him and made him wait as she extracted a quill and parchment from her bag to write a quick note for Jenassa.

_Jen,_  
_They made contact. I'm in. Will be at the College of Winterhold doing some research. Will return home when I can._  
_-Fralia_

She folded up the parchment and handed it to the courier as well as a coin purse of 50 septims.

"I need you to get this to Jenassa, a dark elf. She should be in Lakeview manor just north of Falkreath but you may also find her on the roads. I'm not sure if she is searching for me... if she sends a letter back, i'll be in Winterhold," she instructed him.

"Yes ma'am. And thank you." The bosmer was quite pleased at the sum she had given him to deliver her letter. He bowed to her and continued on his way with renewed vigor. Fralia watched him take the road south then took in a deep breath of fresh, crisp Skyrim air before taking the east road.

~X-x-X~

"If i see you treating any of these books poorly, I'll skin you alive. Understand?" When asked if his expansive library held a few volumes that could tell Fralia about Sithis or the Night Mother, the orc at the counter asked no questions and gave no strange looks, only thought for a moment before scouring his shelves and coming back with five books, setting them down in front of her and warning against their mistreatment. She agreed to handle them with care and took them to a far corner of the room to look at them.

The first book she opened was simply titled Sithis and seemed to be very promising. She made herself comfortable by folding her legs up in the chair and pulling up her hood, avoiding strange looks she got from the Orsinium Curater and the Breton Scholar sitting on a bench on the other side of the room. She opened Sithis and began reading. The book was not very long but it was confusing to her. The theme was religious and philosophical and mentioned the Aedra. She had always been sort of lost on what was Aedra, Daedra or Phaedra. The books concept was very obscure and a little hard for her to follow as it would require further reading to fully understand, but what she got from it was that Sithis was of a higher power. He was the void before existence. "Sithis is the start of the house" the book said. It seemed that he was the mass of the universe before the universe ever was... a receptacle for ideas? This sounded right to her.

She read through it again and again trying to make sense of it all or see the connection between Sithis and the Dark Brotherhood, but gave up out of frustration and moved on to the next book: The Night Mother's Truth. This volume was a bit longer than the last but not by much. It outlined the legend of the Night Mother. The book said that she had once been a Dunmer woman in service to the Morag Tong, a much older organization of assassins. The woman had apparently been a survivor after the near eradication of the Morag Tong in the second era. The Night Mother's Truth mentioned Sithis at this point, referring to him as the Dread Lord, saying that Sithis allegedly spoke to the Dunmer woman, telling her of his displeasure with the Morag Tong and desire for more souls before impregnating her and, shortly afterwards, the Night Mother killing the five children in his name, sending their souls to the void.

The concept of Sithis seemed clearer to Fralia now with this additional information. A soul receptacle with a consiousness and hunger? Seems understandable... but is that really where all souls go when they die? But then what of Sovngarde? The nords claimed that, in the event of their honorable death, they would feast forever with Shor in Sovngarde. Do the dishonored dead go to the Void? Or do only nords go to Sovngarde and all other races to the Void? Fralia elected not to dwell on it too long just yet and perhaps look into that later. She continued reading.

The book went on to say that, upon murdering her children in cold blood, the village folk did not take too kindly to the action and murdered her before burning down her house. Later on the voice of the Night Mother reached the mind of one she called "Listener" (the first of many). The Night Mother's voice led this new assassin to create the Dark Brotherhood which would grow in wealth and power, killing in the name of Sithis and filling the void with souls. Fralia closed The Night Mother's Truth and set it on the table on top of Sithis and pondered a moment on what she had read. So Sithis was a sort of Death God that inhabited the Void... or he was the Void? And the Night Mother was once an assassin killing for Mephala in the Morag Tong before Sithis got ahold of her. And now she served as a messenger between Sithis and the realm of mortals through one she chooses as "Listener". Knowing this, and thinking back to A Kiss, Sweet Mother she saw now that by performing the ritual, the Night Mother would notice and the Dark Brotherhood would be told by the Listener to visit the one who set up the contract and set up an assassination.

It was all very clear to her now. She understood the religious aspects now. It made perfect sense to her and she gave a thought to Sithis and wondered if he had been watching her... pleased with the way she killed people... thinking back, she had sent many souls to Sithis... and Ri'saara...

She pulled out of her thoughts and went to grab the next book: A Kiss, Sweet Mother. As she had already read this one, she placed it in the other stack and picked up what was next: Sacred Witness. This book was quite a bit larger than the others so she adjusted her position in the seat and read on. The book was indeed longer but was a quick read and it read like a story, starting out as the author had seen a supposed member of the Dark Brotherhood in a skooma den. The mention of skooma brought Fralia back to thoughts of Ri'saara which she quickly had to dispell for fear of going into a rage and slitting the librarian's throat and letting him bleed out over his desk, books, a few scrolls and the floor...

The author wrote that he had stumbled upon what he assumed wasthe Night Mother after following the assassin he had seen in the Den. He chronicled a short interview he claimed to have had with her in which she revealed that she had once been in service to the thieves guild but went off on her own when they looked down on her idea that murder could bring in more gold. This view of the Night Mother didn't quite coincide with the image that The Night Mother's Truth had painted of her. Overall, she enjoyed the story and chuckled a bit at the end that said the author had been murdered upon revealing such secrets, but decided that books could not be entirely reliable on something so secretive as the assassins of the Dark Brotherhood and their sacred religion. She added the book to the out stack and picked up the last one. She looked upon the title lovingly: The Five Tenets. Although Ri'saara had neglected to teach her about Sithis and the Night Mother, he had schooled her in the tenets. She knew them by heart and ever since those days he had trained her, she vowed to follow them... and she now, likewise chose to devote herself to Sithis and the Night Mother.

She was nervous about joining the family, of course, but from what she had been taught, she could trust them...

"FRALIA!" the wood elf was pulled from her thoughts when a familiar voice filled the quiet library, disturbing the peace. She looked up to see her Dunmer companion, bursting through the doors and approaching her at a quick pace, panic on her face. The Orc at the counter looked her way, disapprovingly, from behind a rather large book he was working on. Fralia stood as Jenassa closed the distance between them and embraced her tightly. "Fralia! I was so worried! I saw them take you but I think they paralyzed me so i couldn't do anything about it! Are you hurt?! What did they do to you?! The courier found me on the road when I was searching for you and I came here as fast as I could-"

"Jen, hush! You're drawing attention!" Jenassa let go of her bosmer friend and looked around the library to see the Orc scowling at the two of them and the Breton had paused in his searching of shelves to listen to them. She looked back at Fralia apologetically, receiving a sigh as the bosmer set to picking up the books from the table and urging Jen to follow her to the counter. She placed the four books from her out stack on the desk and held up The Five Tenets before the librarian.

"How much to purchase this one?" she asked. The Orc's features softened a bit before he replied.

"Thirty septims and it's all yours." Fralia placed the gold on the table, said a quick thank you, and led them out of the library, down the stairs, and out of the college.

The sun was setting when they stepped out into the cold and windy town of Winterhold. Fralia led Jenassa into The Frozen Hearth, procured a room, and immediately pulled Jen into a tight embrace once the door was shut. She held her close for a few moments before speaking.  
"Are you alright? She didn't hurt you, did she?" Jen pulled away to look at Fralia before answering.

"I'm fine... I woke up when they were taking you but they must have used some sort of paralysis spell because i couldn't do anything to stop them... I was panicked but otherwise unharmed. What happened?" Fralia sighed in relief and sank onto the bed with her back against the wall, the events of the day catching up with her. Jen pulled a chair up next to her, waiting patiently for her companion to speak.

"Well... the leader of the Dark Brotherhood... she knew about what I did, of course. The eyes of the Brotherhood seem to be everywhere... So she put me through... a sort of initiation, to repay the debt I owed her, I suppose. She had me kill someone else while she watched. She must have liked what she saw, because she invited me to join the Dark Brotherhood."

"Well i can imagine, bearing witness to your bloodlust, how could she refuse? You are quite merciless... they will be lucky to have you." Fralia smiled at the recognition. Jen returned the smile before her expression mellowed again. "This is very serious, Fralia. Are you sure this is the route you wish to take?" Fralia nodded immediately. There was no thinking about it. Because after all...

"It's the reason I'm here to begin with... It's not the reason I left Valenwood, but it's why I came to Skyrim... to become an assassin for the Brotherhood." Jen nodded in acknowledgement but then something occured to her.

"Well i am happy for you... but I won't be joining. And assassins usually work alone, do they not? I obviously cannot be present when you do business with them... so will you still be in need of my services?" Fralia stared at her in confusion, wondering how in Oblivion Jenassa could even think that Fralia would want to go anywhere without her dearest Dunmer friend. She took Jen's hand and pulled her onto the bed with her, making her sit in front of her and holding tightly from behind.

"Jen... no matter what happens, I will always need you. You are my dearest friend. I don't know how I could ever brave the wilds of Skyrim without you by my side..." she held her tighter and Jen smiled before responding.

"Will you tell me, then...?" Fralia's smile faltered as the red haze slowly returned to her vision and the screaming made itself known.

"I would... I want to tell you... but I fear what may happen if i put those memories into words." a scene flashed in her mind of the morning after she killed Grelod, waking to find herself covered in blood, holding Jen in her arms. She did not know what she would do if anything ever happened to her. Especially if that something was her fault. Jenassa simply chalked it up to another day not knowing about her friend's past and released herself from Fralia's grasp so she could sleep. Fralia pushed the dark memories away before she could do the same.

**_Kind of a weak ending and I apologize but THERE'S CHAPTER_**_ 4._


	5. Chapter 5

"What... is the music... of Life?" the black door held a visage of a skull with a bloody hand print on it hovering over a skeleton and a pile of smaller skulls with what seemed to be a dagger sticking out of them. Fralia took this to represent Sithis, the Night Mother and the skulls of her dead children... she was most definitely in the right place.

"Silence, my brother..." she replied softly.

"Welcome... Home..." The large, stony black door slowly opened, giving her access to the sanctuary beyond. Fralia's heart fluttered at the word 'home'. She was eager, yet anxious, to embrace what awaited her here. She turned to Jenassa with a giddy smile on her face.

"Wait here. I shouldn't be long..." she said. Jen just smiled back at her and nodded. Once Fralia was inside, the door shut behind her. She headed down some stairs and found herself in a dark room with a desk and a few bookshelves. The book Sithis sat upon a pedestal on one of the shelves and piles of dark clothing lay on another. The rest seemed to be occupied by ruined books. Astrid was leaning against a doorway that led down some more stairs. She looked at Fralia expectantly.

"Ah, at last... I hope you found the place alright" she said in her low, seductive voice. She wasn't wearing a hood this time so Fralia could see that her face was just as attractive as her voice.

"So what happens now?" she tried her best to sound professional, but in truth she was as excited as a child... and eager to sink her blade into something substantial.

"Well... what happens now is you start your new life in the Dark Brotherhood. You are part of the family, after all." again, the word 'family'. Suddenly, it was as if a whole new person had taken over her and she just wanted to flit about, hugging everyone she could get her hands on. "This, as you can see, is our sanctuary. You won't find a safer place in all of Skyrim. So get comfortable."

"When do I get to kill someone?" she spoke a little quicker than she had intended.

"Haha... Soon, my dearest, soon." Astrid smiled at the overeager assassin. "I'm arranging a job for you, but I need more time. For now, go to Nazir. He's the Redguard. He may have some smaller contracts to tide you over. Soon, the Night Mother will arrive... and things around here are sure to get even more interesting..." Fralia's eyes widened and she simply couldn't hide her excitement.

"The Night Mother?"

"Yes. The Night Mother is our unholy matron-"

"I know who she is. She's coming here? The Night Mother herself is coming to this sanctuary?" Astrid looked at Fralia with a quizzical stare. The woman she had kidnapped had completely disappeared and was replaced by this curious child.

"How did you know about the Night Mother?"

"I did my research..." Fralia looked a little shy now, a little embarrassed by her outburst. Astrid just resumed her usual relaxed expression.  
"Well anyway... before i let you go, i have something for you. A welcome home present. The armor of the Dark Brotherhood. May it serve you well in all your... endeavors." she handed Fralia a piece of tight leather armor with the boots, gloves and hood to match. Fralia took a look at her new armor as Astrid walked down the stairs. The leather armor was black and red with straps and studs all over. It reminded her of the nightingale armor. Then she looked over at the pile of clothes on the bookshelf and saw a red and black robe, some red fingerless gloves and a much larger mages hood... she looked from the leather armor and back to the robe a few times before snatching up the robe, hood and gloves, replacing them with the leather whatever.

She stepped into the room behind the desk and put on the outfit, very pleased with the way it all fit. It was loose and comfortable and she could easily hide her face under the hood or hide objects within the garb. She stepped back out of the room and heard voices coming from down the stairs. She followed them and stepped into a large cavern. It was dark and damp and looked as if it were the ruin of some old nordic dwelling. Across from where she was she could even see a word wall sitting atop some stairs. An entire forge was nestled in a corner to her left and to her right above a waterfall was a stained glass image of what she believed to be a representation of Sithis. Banners with the black hand of the Brotherhood were hung around the chamber and in the center of the large room, the members of the Brotherhood were circled around a child.

Fralia came in closer but stayed partially hidden behind a stalagmite as she listened to what they were saying. They were laughing...

"Hahahahahah! Again, again! Do the part where he tries to buy you some candy." It was an argonian speaking. He was speaking to the child who was unmistakeably a vampire. Fralia caught a glimpse of her bright amber eyes and suddenly the presence of a child in the Dark Brotherhood sanctuary wasn't so strange anymore. She replied to the argonian and her voice was disturbingly unchildlike.

"Ok ok wait... here we go." she began immitating the voice of an old man. "Oh, you're such a pretty little girl... would the sweety like a sweety? Oh yes, how about some chocolate?" she then took on an innocent little girl voice. "Oh yes, please, kind sir. My mama and papa left me all alone, and i'm so very hungry. I know a shortcut to the candy shop... through this alley." a few members of her small audience began to snicker. Among them was the argonian, a large blonde nord and a mysterious looking dunmer woman. The vampire girl continued her story with the old man's reply.

"Oh yea, very good, very good. My it is dark down here... Oh, but you are so beautiful. Such a lovely smile. Your teeth... your teeth! No! Aaaargh!" The small congregation laughed heartily at the ill fate of the man in her story.

"Oh, Babette but you are so wicked." the dark elf said when she caught her breath. The child, Babette, just grinned in reply.  
"How about you, Festus? How did that last contract turn out?" The redguard, whom Fralia assumed to be Nazir, spoke to an elderly man who wore the same robes that she did.

"Oh yes, please, old man. Regale us with your tales of wizardry..." the deep voice of the nord man called out from his spot on the far side of the circle from Fralia. He folded his arms over his broad chest and leaned onto one leg in a stance of disinterest. The mage, Festus, just scoffed a reply.

"Ah, the young and stupid. Always mocking the experienced and brilliant." he crossed his arms and stared down the nord. "My contract went very well, I'll have you know. Tried a new spell... little something i've been working on in my spare time... Came "this" close to turning that priest inside out hehe... damned messy." Fralia giggled to herself at the thought of someone's organs being forced outside of their body... delicious.

"And what of your latest, Arnbjorn? Something about a khajiit? Merchant, was it?" The dark elf was addressing the nord. Babette smirked and spoke before Arnbjorn could reply.

"Oh... a big doggy chasing a little kitty... How adorable!" her statement earned a round of laughter from the group which Fralia couldn't help but join in. She gathered that, from what she said, Arnbjorn must be a werewolf. Arnbjorn gave a growl of annoyance.

"I am not adorable, it was not funny, and he wasn't a merchant. He was a khajiit monk, a master of the whispering fang style." then he smirked and looked directly at Babette. "But now he's dead... and i have a new loincloth." there was another round of laughter and Arnbjorn had a look of victory on his face at one-uping Babette's comment. The look fell from his face soon after as he noticed Fralia, who had, in a fit of laughter, come out from behind her hiding place to join the group. "Hey, new meat." everyone calmed down and turned to see what he was talking about. They all gave welcoming smiles. All except for Festus, who just humphed and made his way through the group and off to another part of the sanctuary, uninterested in the Initiate. The dunmer and Babette waved a hello to Fralia before following Festus. Nazir was closest to her and approached her.

"Hello. You must be Fralia. We heard all about your little session with Astrid at the shack. Nice work indeed... it takes alot to actually disturb someone who bathes in blood for a living, but somehow you managed." he extended his hand to her and she shook it.

"And you must be Nazir. I was told to come to you for contracts."

"You're awfully polite for a vicious killer..." his eyes searched her, as if to divine her very essence.

"I could say the same of you. And the rest of the group has yet to make me feel unwelcome... except perhaps Festus." the redguard laughed a bit at this and was visibly more relaxed.

"True... don't worry about him though, he's just a bitter old goat. Good at what he does though. I think you'll fit in just fine around here." Fralia smiled warmly. The atmosphere here was very comfortable indeed. "Now, as for contracts, since you seem so eager to begin working. I have three. To be completed at your leisure." He pulled three bits of folded up parchment from his outlandish looking garb and read them off before handing them to her. "I have Narfi. A beggar living in a desolate house in Ivarstead." Fralia became a little sad when she heard this. She knew Narfi. They had met when she had made her way to Ivarstead on her way to train with the Greybeards. She had helped put his mind at ease about his dead sister by giving him the necklace she had found on the girl's corpse. Nazir continued. "Then we have Ennodius Papius. A paranoid ex-miller living outside of Anga's Mill. You know where that is don't you?" Fralia nodded and recieved the contract. "And last we have Beitild. A mine boss in Dawnstar. Once you've finished one or all of them, report back to me for your payment. I don't often do contracts myself and they are scarce to begin with so I will still be here when you get back. Happy hunting." With that, he dismissed her. She thanked him and stuffed the detailed contracts into one of the pockets that the robes had on them.

She decided to take this time to meet the others and explore the cavern a bit. She heard a grindstone being worked at and turned to see Arnbjorn sharpening a sword. She gave a quick thought to introducing herself but decided against it when she caught a glimpse of the Argonian sitting beside the natural staircase leading to the caverns on the left. She tiptoed her way over and sat next to him. She had always been more interested in the beast races, which was strange considering that her parents had, in a complete rejection of Bosmer tradition, taken a leaf from the Altmers books and looked down on anything that wasn't an elf. This included the Dunmer as well. The argonian smiled warmly at the Wood elf, taking in her appearance.

"Greetings, Sister."

"You are Shadowscale..." she looked at him starry-eyed. He looked back, shocked.

"I... yes. Yes, I am. How did you...?"

"An old friend of mine... belonged to the brotherhood. He told me much about the traditions of the group and how things worked. Including details about it's members. As i recall, there is always at least one Shadowscale..."

"Well then... I suppose you also know that, as Shadowscale, I was born to serve the Brotherhood. I was raised a killer. That is all I know. Life is simple... and good." Fralia smiled. She did know this.

"I would love to trade stories with you some time... I am Fralia by the way." he smiled back at her.

"Veezara. And I'd like that. Like everyone else, I heard what you did at your initiation. Very interesting. I would like to hear more stories like that." Fralia giggled, her face reddening at the compliment. She knew immediately that they would get along well. She stood up to continue exploring and talk to the others.

"Well It's a pleasure to meet you Veezara. I'll see you around." Right away, she turned towards the word wall that stood between two doorways that led deeper into the sanctuary. Everything went out of focus as she got closer and one of the words glowed, her dragonborn blood illuminating it for her to understand. She gathered the knowledge from the ancient word to use as a shout before proceeding through the hall on the left towards where the others had gone. In the room beyond, there was an enchanting table and alchemy lab as well as a few benches and tables. There were alchemical ingredients scattered everywhere, as there usually was in any room that held an alchemy table. Babette was the first to notice her.

"Hello, sister. Fralia, was it?" Fralia nodded as she took a seat on a bench next to Babette's chair.

"I imagine it's quite convenient for you to look young like that forever... in this line of work that is."

"You're speaking of my Vampirism. Yes, you would be correct. Nobody ever suspects a child. I'm impressed that you noticed so easily... although it takes the fun out of pretending to have been kidnapped by the Dark Brotherhood." Fralia laughed a bit.

"The eyes were unmistakeable. Although at first, I did sort of suspect you of being a victim of some cruel form of torture when I came in to see the others surrounding you." Babette got a laugh out of that one. It wasn't until now that Fralia really gave thought to the fact that they all seemed so... happy. There was plenty of laughter, as they all shared the same dark humor. It seemed to keep them in high spirits. At least from what she had seen so far...

"I like you." Babette said. "Listen, if you ever need any potions or poisons, you come to me. I can also teach you a bit about alchemy... for a price, of course."

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you." Fralia looked past Babette at the little downstairs area behind her that was covered in spiderwebs and, she was horrified to see, housed a good sized frostbite spider. She stood and averted her attention towards the enchanting table on the far side of the room where Festus was working. She may have been uninterested in trying to be friendly with Arnbjorn, but she was determined to get on the old mages good side. She stepped up next to him. He sighed in annoyance before she had the chance to even think of what to say.

"Yes, yes, I'm your brother and i'm supposed to treat you with respect so... Hello! Happy now?" Fralia just smiled and tilted her head.

"Oh is that it? Oh no, good mage, you need not show me undue respect. I am, however, interested in something you said earlier... something about a spell that could turn people inside out? I wouldn't mind learning to do something like that..." The old man turned away from what he was doing to look at Fralia.

"HA! Even if I was willing to teach you something as advanced as that, you couldn't handle it! It would drain all of your magicka before it could even reach it's target. A pup like you could never hope to master it. I bet you can't even conjure a firestorm..." he waved a dismissive hand at her before returning to his work. She crossed her arms and stayed where she was.

"If I can master this firestorm spell, would you teach me your spell?" He glared at her for a second before giving it some consideration.

"Hm... throw in a bit of gold for the lesson, and you've got a deal. But from what i've heard, you're not the mage type, are you? Got yourself an enchanted sword, huh?" he glanced at the blade on her hip and she drew it out, brightening the candlelit room.

"Daedric... actually." she said as she presented it to him. He took another look at it and furrowed his brow.

"I know that blade... Dawnbreaker, isn't it? And how did you get ahold of Meridia's sacred sword?"

"I've made my living as an adventurer... I earned it when I cleansed her temple of the corrupted." she sheathed her sword and Festus went back to looking uninterested. She took this to mean he had nothing more to say and moved on. She decided she would meet the others next time she was in and settled for exploring. The Sanctuary was very spacious and had many rooms and hallways, all scattered with various species of mushrooms. She was heartbroken to see that none of the shelves held any legible books.

Down the stairs from the magicworking room was a sort of large dining room with enough tables to seat Ysgramor's Companions. There wasn't much at the table, however. She got the feeling that the Brotherhood wasn't much better off than the Thieves Guild was when she first arrived. Up a flight of stairs on the other end of that room was a sort of barracks. Just like in the guild, there were many beds with chests next to each of them. Next, Fralia found herself in a small cavern with three more halls branching off of it. One of which, she had just come out of. One led into a very large solitary bedroom with a table in it. Something about this room in particular drew her attention... as if something was important about it or that someone important resided there. She took the feeling to mean that this could be Astrid's room but then changed her mind when she remembered the room she had changed in at the entrance.

She left this very important room and went down the last hallway. One of the rooms here had a stone bed, a couple nightshade blossoms in a flower basket, and a copy of Sacred Witness on the dresser. Fralia assumed that this was Babette's room. The last room she came to connected the hallway to the first large cavern near the entrance. This room was moderately large and held a few benches and bookshelves and was shadowed over by the large stained glass image of Sithis. This room was seated above the waterfall from the main cavern. Here, she found Astrid reading a book on one of the benches.

'Where the hell did she get that book?' Fralia wondered to herself. None of the shelves she had come across had any books that weren't rotted or burned up. Astrid looked up from her reading when she heard Fralia come in.

"Ah, you're still here. Did you get your contracts from Nazir yet?" she said in her usual captivating tone.

"Yes, I did." she showed Astrid the bits of parchment she had recieved then returned them to her pocket. "I've also met a few of the others... They're quite friendly for a group of assassins. For the most part." Astrid smiled and looked back at her book.

"Hm. Well I wasn't being sarcastic when I called us a family. We are all brothers and sisters in service to the Dread Lord. We look after each other." Fralia smiled to herself. She decided that joining the Brotherhood had been a good decision on her part. She felt much more comfortable here than she ever did with the Guild... "Now run along. I believe you were given a few tasks to do?" Fralia nodded and made her way back through the main area and out of the Sanctuary, eager to sink her blade into something.


	6. Chapter 6

Fralia blinked at the light of the day as she stepped through the black door out of the Sanctuary. Jenassa looked at her expectantly, eyeing her new outfit with approval.

"So, how did it go?" she asked. Fralia smiled a smile that Jenassa had never before seen on her friends face. It was genuine and made her eyes sparkle. She guessed that it had gone well and couldn't help but smile back at seeing her friend in such good spirits.

"It was wonderful. This was a fantastic idea." Fralia replied as she made her way up the hill and out of the small clearing. "That sanctuary is full of nothing but the friendliest folk in all of Tamriel. Save one, but you can't expect perfection." As she reached their horses she turned to Jen and held out her arms. "And just look at these robes! They're perfect! So many pockets, and this hood..." she put the hood up over her face. "You can't even tell who i am, can you?" Jenassa just laughed and shook her head. She could still tell it was a bosmer and that red hair was unmistakeable.

"No, i can't. You're completely inconspicuous. Just remember, you probably shouldn't wear that in town. People will notice. It is obviously a garb of the Dark Brotherhood." Fralia's smile faltered a bit. She looked down at her outfit and pondered a moment on a solution. She really did like the outfit...

"I suppose I'll have to only wear it when on a job... and wear armor the rest of the time. I'll make some at home. Something simple. With lots of pockets." She mounted her horse and urged Jenassa to do the same and follow her. From there they made their way around Falkreath, as not to be noticed by it's citizens, and northeast to Lakeview.

X-x-X

While Jenassa made preparations for dinner, Fralia scoured through bookshelves in search of books that she could consult before getting to work on her new piece of armor. Light Armor Forging was the first piece of literature that caught her eye. She grabbed it, skipped past Cherim's Heart and grabbed a leather bound journal that she recognized as belonging to the orc she had come across at Sleeping Tree Camp. He had been dead, of course (giants hate skooma) but his journal held great knowledge of smithing a strong but light armor, and the armor that she found with him had proved invaluable to her. She took these down to the cellar where the Forge lay mostly unused but fully stocked. She placed the books on her workbench before making a short trip back upstairs to grab a few bottles of stocked up Sleeping Tree Sap. She decided to try it out with her armor.

She read through the books thoroughly before getting to work cutting the leather and shaping it, heating it, reshaping and using the sap to make it more pliable while adding thicker layers to the main body of the piece. For the skirt of the armor, she cut up a snow bear pelt and another bear pelt that had a reddish brown color to it. She of course added a ton of pockets to the piece, using more sap and a bit of fox pelt for the inside.

The process took quite a bit of time and she only took a break from it once Jen called her up for the meal she had prepared. By the time she had finished putting the steel shoulder plate on it, it was well past midnight and she was exhausted. She took a step back from her work and eyed it with approval. She had created a strong piece of leather armor, studded and accented with hard steel with enough pockets and straps to hold anything from food to weapons to gemstones. She had even (although it took a lot more time) made a chainmail coinpurse that she had integrated into the folds of the bear skin skirt that would serve as a storage place for her gemstones. She picked it up and felt the fabric, reassuring herself that it was strong as heavy armor but still light enough as not to limit her mobility.

Finally satisfied, she took the piece up to her room and placed it safely in her wardrobe before falling into a deep sleep beside her companion.

X-x-X  
They had just passed Haemar's Shame on the path east from Falkreath into the Rift when Fralia finally spoke.

"The Night Mother... is coming to the sanctuary." Jenassa just looked up at her, a look of confusion on her face.

"The Night Mother?" she stated quizzically. Fralia looked towards the azure sky, an image of mystery as well as beauty with her hair being lifted by the wind and her slender, toned body hugged tightly by her newly forged armor, her sword of light on her hip and the dark Nightingale Bow strapped to her back with a quiver of glass arrows. Her Dark Brotherhood robes were tucked safely inside her bag of infinity.  
"The Night Mother... is sort of where the Brotherhood started... i guess it really depends on what you believe. But there is one story that seems to stick. She gave birth to the children of Sithis... and then killed them, sending their souls to the void."

"Sithis... is he a daedra?"

"Not quite. He is... the void. Darkness. All that was before and will ever be. He is a sort of Death God and a symbol of worship in the Brotherhood. The Night Mother is his right hand. The Matron of the brotherhood. Mother to us all. She speaks to the one among their ranks known as "Listener". That is how the Brotherhood finds it's contracts. Those who perform the Black Sacrament are praying to her."

"Why are you telling me this? I thought the Brotherhood guarded their secrets well?" Fralia had thought about this. She knew she could possibly get into trouble for revealing these secrets. But she trusted Jenassa... just as Ri'saara had trusted her.

"I trust you. And besides... I wouldn't want to leave you in the dark. We're going to Ivarstead now for a contract. I'll need you to stay close by but out of sight. It is still dark but the guards... I need you to look out for me."

"How will i let you know if someone is coming?"

"I've figured that out already." she reached into her bag and pull out a large piece of soft red cloth and held it out for Jenassa to take. "I'll need you to go to higher ground to keep watch. If you see someone coming that could see, tear a piece of this cloth off, tie it to an arrow and shoot it somewhere i'll be able to see. Just don't shoot me, ok?"

"I should be able to do that." Fralia smiled that unfamiliar smile. She was giddy. She was off to assassinate someone and she was excited. They skirted around a cave that was known to house bears and the tree nearby that had a large beehive on a low branch. Once they were safely past, Ivarstead came into view. The sun would be coming over the horizon soon, and the early risers would be out and getting ready to start their day at the Mill. As they came up on the village, Fralia commanded Jenassa to ride a little way up the mountain so she had a clear view of the dilapidated shack that Narfi would be sleeping in. As she took off, Fralia left her horse just outside of town and snuck around to the top of the waterfall, pulling her robes over her armor once she was hidden.

From on top of the small hill, she could just barely see the form of her victim, huddled against the cold on a stack of hay inside the broken structure. She climbed silently down towards the house, footsteps silent pads against the grass. She stepped into what used to be a doorway and glanced up to see if she could spot Jenassa from where she was. The dunmer was well hidden. She moved on past the fireplace and came upon the poor beggar, snoring softly. She drew her blade and crawled until she was just on top of him, raising her sword to deliver his soul to Sithis. He Stirred awake as the sun was peering over the horizon. He looked up to see the cloaked figure kneeling over him, her face hidden and her shocking red hair flowing from the darkness under her hood.

"Reyda...?" her face was expressionless and her voice solemn when she replied.

"You'll see you sister soon, Narfi... in the void." there was a faint gurgling noise as her blade found its way into the beggar's throat. She pulled the sword from the fresh corpse and sheathed it before picking up the poor creature and carrying him to the creek, throwing him in. As she made her way silently back to her horse, she could hear hooves approaching her from the hill and headed north towards the road, Jenassa meeting up with her soon after.

"Well that was easy... I saw that he woke up. It's a good thing he didn't yell for help." Jenassa said once they were far enough away.  
"He was still half asleep and didn't realize what was going on. He'll be halfway to Windhelm before anybody realizes he's missing..." she sort of felt sorry for him. She had returned his sister's necklace to him when she first visited Ivarstead. She told him Reyda was coming back. She didn't have the heart to tell him her skeleton littered the floor of the river.

_"Well done... my little nightshade..."_ his voice echoed through her mind... just like it had the first time she killed. She was his little nightshade... and she missed him. The voice was still a comfort to her and urged her onward at a quicker pace for her next contract.

X-x-X  
Ennodius Papius was a satisfying kill. The light of day was upon them when they reached Anga's Mill but the paranoid miller was stationed far outside of it's boundaries, up near the waterfall. The old man was busying himself, fishing near his tent. Fralia had told Jenassa to wait near the mill while she approached her target. He may have been on high alert, but his senses failed him this time. It took no effort at all on her part to sneak far behind him and send an arrow straight into the back of his head. He fell into the river and his body was forced upstream toward the Mill. Fralia moved quickly but inconspicuously back to her horse to make their way to Dawnstar.

Beitild proved to be a harder target. The harsh mine boss was easily spotted when Fralia and Jenassa arrived in Dawnstar. She was hovering between the mine and the ore smelter, barking orders at the miners. She was all too conspicuous and would prove much harder to take out than Narfi had been.

"We'll have to wait until she's asleep," Fralia said after surveying the situation. "Unless you feel like running from the guards?" as she said this she looked around the town, trying to decide if there were anywhere she could hide and shoot the woman with her bow without being noticed. No such luck.

"I don't think it's worth the trouble. We should wait." Jenassa replied. They decided to explore a bit while they waited for nightfall. To avoid looking suspicious, Fralia took on the role of an adventurer looking for work. They stepped into the Jarl's place to ask the steward if there were anything they could do for the hold. They made out with a bounty letter and a strong hatred for the Jarl, who seemed to be a hard headed stormcloak supporter. After the incident in Windhelm, Fralia was beginning to hate the band of rebels more and more each day. It took all she had to keep herself from stabbing the daft old man in the throat to stop him rambling on about his opinions of the war, and the way he talked down to his servants was disgusting.

To calm herself, Fralia checked out the mine next. This turned out to be a good idea. Beitild did more than just order others around, apparently she did some work as well. Fralia and Jen were deep in the mine when they heard Beitild coming in, complaining under her breath about how lazy the others could be. There was no one else in the mine at that time and Fralia took the opportunity without hesitation. Jen hid herself in the shadows while Fralia watched her prey patiently. Just as the woman was getting to work pounding the ore from the rock, Fralia soundlessly slid up behind her, put a hand over her mouth and stabbed her repeatedly in the back until she dropped to the ground. She wiped the blood from her sword, shook whatever gold she could from the body before throwing it to the bottom of the mine shaft, and gestured for Jenassa to follow her out of the mine.

With all three contracts completed, they took some downtime at the Bannered Mare on their way back to the sanctuary. They treated themselves to salted beef and Blackbriar Mead, laughing at the expense of Fralia's recent victims as well as those to come. The next morning they were awake and refreshed and ready to set out again.

Fralia was still filled with excitement about recieving her next tasks as they finally came up to the black door. She looked back at her companion before entering.

"I'd like you to do me a favor," she said, reaching into her gem purse and pulling out a few of the colored stones. "Head back home and place these in the display case in the entryway. Then relax for a bit while i take care of things here. I don't know how long it will take this time and I don't want you waiting here forever. I'll return for you when I'm finished." the dark elf took the gems and directed her horse toward Lakeview. Fralia spoke the password and headed inside. Her heart skipped excitedly when she reached the top of the second set of stairs and heard a familiar high-pitched voice coming from the main cavern...


End file.
